From the eastern predawn hours, Morning Stars Venus and Jupiter shine through broken skies this morning at 4:05 a.m. CDT in this 15-second exposure from the Chicago area. Notice how Venus has moved passed Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus. The Pleiades star cluster shines through the clouds above Jupiter in this view.

Compare Venus this morning to where it was on July 9 relative to Aldebaran.

Watch the planetary pair in the morning sky throughout this month. Read more about Venus as a Morning Star. For our monthly sky watching posting, click here. (Click the image to see it larger.)